Question 1

Why is it bel instead of beau?

Accepted Answer

Even though assortiment is a masculine noun, it starts with a vowel. In French, when a masculine singular adjective like beau comes right before a noun starting with a vowel (or a mute h), it changes to bel to make the pronunciation smoother. Other common examples are nouveau changing to nouvel and vieux changing to vieil.

Question 2

Why does this sentence use C'est instead of Il est for 'It is'?

Accepted Answer

You use c'est because it is followed by a modified noun (a noun introduced by an article like un, often with an adjective). Here, the modified noun is un bel assortiment. If you were using an adjective all by itself to describe the assortment, you would use il est, for example: Il est beau (It is beautiful).

Question 3

Does the tag n'est-ce pas change if I am talking about plural or feminine things?

Accepted Answer

No, n'est-ce pas is completely fixed! Even though it literally translates to 'is it not?', you can tack it onto the end of almost any statement to mean 'isn't it?', 'aren't they?', 'doesn't she?', or 'right?'. It never changes to match the gender, number, or tense of the main sentence.

Question 4

If I wanted to reply 'I will take a few of them' from this assortment, how would I use our current lesson's grammar?

Accepted Answer

You would say Je vais en prendre quelques-uns (assuming the items inside are masculine, like chocolates). You use quelques-uns to mean 'a few' when referring to a subset of things you've already mentioned. Notice that in French, you also need the little pronoun en before the verb to grammatically link back to the assortment, literally meaning 'I am going of them to take a few'.

C'est un bel assortiment, n'est-ce pas ?

Breakdown of C'est un bel assortiment, n'est-ce pas ?

Questions & Answers about C'est un bel assortiment, n'est-ce pas ?

Learn C'est un bel assortiment, n'est-ce pas and more in French